The sweet smell of sugar cookies filled the hostel on Thursday evening as Caroline baked up a storm. The counter was stacked high with cookies shaped like big hearts and little hearts, Xs and Os (which turned into amorphous blobs), four colors of frosting, and a variety of sprinkles. The hostel had turned into Cupid’s cookie factory.

It was a great turnout. Guests, staff members, and volunteers all participated in the decorating, and by the end, we had mounds of pink, red, and lavender cookies. It was impossible not to feel the love on Valentine’s day—the love of sugar and childhood frosting art.